The goal of this project is to develop efficient and general synthetic methods for the total synthesis of the morphine alkaloids. The total synthesis of the amaryllidaceae alkaloid lycoramine has been achieved in 8.1% overall yield from cyclohexane-1, 3-dione and we wish to incorporate chemistry developed in this synthesis to that of morphine. We hope that the morphine synthesis developed here will be competitive with present isolation techniques from foreign sources, which would allow for better regulation of drug traffic in American society.